Division I North American Season to Conclude in Milwaukee this Weekend

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The North American Cup season will both begin for some of Team USA’s fencers and end for others at the December North American Cup in Milwaukee, Wis. this weekend.

Competition will be held from Friday through Monday at the Delta Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave., in Halls A-D.

More than 2,000 athletes are scheduled to compete in Division I, Division II, Veteran and Wheelchair events in each of the three weapons: epee, foil and saber.

The event will be the final NAC of the season for Division I fencers and is a key qualifying tournament for the 2013 Senior World Championships.

The Division I field will feature 12 Olympians, including men’s epee fencers Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Soren Thompson (San Diego, Calif.) who will each be competing for the first time since the London Games where Kelsey placed fourth and Thompson finished 19th. Both athletes also were on the U.S. team that won World Championship gold in April.

Other members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team that will fence that weekend include:

Two-time Senior World bronze medalists Daria Schneider (New York City, N.Y.) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) will both be fencing in the Division I women’s saber competition. Schneider won the first two NACs of the season while Muhammad will be fencing for the first time since the Korfanty World Cup in June.

In the wheelchair event, London Paralympians Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss.) and Catherine Bouwkamp (Fishers, Ind.) will each fence for the first time since the London Games.

The December NAC also marks the start of the domestic season for veteran fencers and nearly all of the team members from the 2012 Veteran World Championships are scheduled to compete in Milwaukee.

Among the veteran fencers competing this weekend are the following medalists from the 2012 Veteran World Championships: